American Go E-Journal » U.S./North America

There is still time to register for the US Youth Go Championships, which will be held Jan. 19th on KGS. All AGA members who are under 18 are eligible, and there will be prizes awarded every five ranks. Think you might be the best 22 kyu out there? Try your hand in the 21-25 kyu bracket. All games will be even within rank brackets of roughly five stones. All dan level games will be further subdivided by age – under 18 and under 12. Winners will receive a beautiful etched glass trophy, 2nd place in each bracket gets a Sai plushie. Everyone who enters will be eligible for AGF scholarships to either the AGA Go Camp or the US Go Congress, first come first served. The scholarships are worth $400 at camp, or $200 at congress. You may enter at a rank higher than your official AGA rank, but may not enter at a lower one. The registration deadline is Sunday, January 13th. To register, e-mail youth@usgo.org with your name, rank, birthday, AGA ID, KGS ID, and citizenship. -Story and Photo by Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor. Photo: Young players at the 2010 Go Congress.

Expressing “heart-felt thanks” to the Nihon Ki-in, the Seattle Go Center on December 21 signed a new lease agreement with the Nihon Ki-in that runs through 2016, with an option to renew through 2021. The agreement ended a dispute over the possible sale of the Center (Nihon Kiin Urged Not to Sell Seattle Go Center 3/4/2012 EJ), “providing for our continued management and occupancy of the Iwamoto Building in support of our mission to promote the game of go and encourage cultural exchange in the spirit of Iwamoto-sensei,” the Center said in a press release. “To a large extent,” the release noted, “this new agreement simply formalizes the understanding the two organizations have always had, and ensures that misunderstandings will not occur in the future.” Nihon Ki-in President Norio Wada was singled out for praise by the Center, which said that the new agreement “not only formally extends the relationship between our two organizations, but reaffirms our ties to one another, (and) was only made possible by the vision and leadership the Nihon Ki-in provided throughout this process.” Saying that the Seattle Go Center “remains deeply grateful to the Nihon Ki-in for its support, generosity, and guidance since the Seattle Go Center’s inception in 1994,” the Center pledged to “strive to justify their faith in us, now and far into the future.”photo: Attorney Deborah Niedermeyer 14k and Notary Daniel Cooper 3d watch Seattle Go Center President Andrew Gross 2k sign new lease. Photo by Brian Allen.

If you are under 18, there is still time to apply for free teaching lessons from professionals, through the American Go Foundation. Yi Lun Yang 7P, Janice Kim 3P, and Jennie Shen 2P, will offer lessons online to students who qualify. Applicants must be AGA members, currently in grades K-12, and not had private professional lessons before (attending a lesson at a previous congress is not a problem). Applicants will be judged on their demonstrated interest in go, their short essays and any letters of recommendation. Finalists may be asked to play a game against a strong amateur to confirm their enthusiasm. Six lessons will be provided to each player selected. The deadline for applications is January 1 2013. Apply to get stronger today, click here to download the form. -Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor.

The Portland Go Club is now a 501c3 non-profit under federal tax code. “This means it is a charitable organization able to accept tax deductible donations and apply for foundation grants available to such organizations,” reports Peter Freedman. The basis for the application was the club’s active education and outreach program, both to the general public and particularly to children in schools. “The club has taught hundreds of children to play, in both public and private schools,” says Freedman. Unlike many clubs, the club has not run tournaments for years; Oregon tournaments are run by the Corvallis Go Club and the Lewis and Clark Go club. The Portland club does, however, run matches between schools locally, where organizers teach, and between local schools and schools elsewhere (on KGS). Clubs interested in more detailed information can contact Freedman at peter.freedman@comcast.net.

The best-performing team at the February 8-17 N.A. Go Convention will win a $1,000 prize, reports organizer Edward Zhang.“All you need to do is to team up with some friends and play the best go in your division,” Zhang says. A minimum of seven players fulfills team eligibility. Players will still play the 6 or 8-round weekend tourney individually, and as in the Cotsen Open, a team score will be calculated. To get the early registration discounted rate, register before 12/25 and you can add the team name later. Early registrants will also receive a go book.

Romanian pro Catalin Taranu 5P will join U.S. professionals Andy Liu and Gansheng Shi in the 10-game series against Sedol Lee sponsored by the new go9dan.com server (New Go Server Launches With 10 Top Pros in $100,000 Invitational). The league will run from the end of January to April, and includes Lee Sedol, Lee Changho, Kong Jie, Xie He, Chen Yaoye, Park Junghwan, Kim Jisuk, Park Younghoon and Shi Yue.

The American Go Foundation‘s annual fund-drive is under way. “Every dollar you give is matched by the hundreds of hours AGF board members, mentors and volunteers spend on helping our programs and encouraging others to teach go,” says AGF President Terry Benson. The AGF and AGA worked “more closely than ever to promote go” in 2012, Benson says, and “Now the AGF needs to rebuild our treasury.”

The AGF Store, previously available only to approved AGF programs, is now open to college clubs and AGA chapters, while continuing to serve schools, libraries and community programs. The AGA has renewed its matching grant program for college clubs to help them purchase playing equipment from the AGF Store for club use. The AGF had a booth at the American Library Association convention again this year to encourage libraries to order the Hikaru no Go manga for only $20. “These sets are the seeds for the future of go which we’ve planted in hundreds of communities around the country,” says Benson, “often with the assistance of local volunteers working with their community’s youth librarians. The library clubs are nurtured with the equipment made possible by generous go players.”

The AGF provided most of the funding to broadcast and archive the sessions at the 2012 International Go Symposium and the AGF also provided $11,000 in scholarships for kids to attend this year’s US Go Congress and US Go Camp, as well as $1,000 for new go comics on the TigersMouth website. The $1,000 AGF College Scholarships reward college bound organizers and “We just received a shipment of $15,000 worth of boards, stones, and bowls to replenish our supplies for youth programs.”

Barely a year old, the Gotham Go Club of Manhattan is hosting its first AGA-rated tournament January 12th. “The go scene when I moved here in 2011 was moribund,” says Club founder and two time Congress Director Peter Armenia. “For a city this big, diverse, talented and wealthy it was almost embarrassing.“ “People are always telling me ‘you can’t do this in NYC, or you can’t have a congress here in the city because it is too expensive,’ Armenia added. “Baloney. Both our weekly Gotham Go Group and our upcoming tournament are in venues that offer the space for free!” The 4-round tournament will be held in Hostelling International New York’s historic building (891 Amsterdam Ave between 103rd & 104th), which offers a “beautiful, clean, quiet space on New York’s Upper West Side.” The hostel offers a range of affordable options for those who need lodging for the tournament. There will be an open section for strong dan players and prizes for all sections; $30 entrance fee (AGA membership required). Click here to register or email Peter Armenia at peter@peterarmenia.com

Jeff Newmiller 1k Allen Louderback 3k topped their divisions in the Davis/Sacramento Go Club Winter Quarterly Tournament on December 15 at the Arden-Dimick library in Sacramento. There was a field of eleven players, including two new AGA members. Newmiller (right) won the upper division, and Louderback (left) the lower, both with three wins. They were also the winners in their divisions of the annual club championship for having the most wins in the four tournaments this year.- Willard Haynes

The malls in Northern Virginia were a little less crowded on Saturday, December 15th, as 22 go players competed in the NOVA Slate and Shell Open for go books donated by Slate and Shell. The four-round tournament was topped by Justin Ching 3D with a 3-1 record. Other division winners were Julian Erville 3K (4-0), Dan Hiltgen 5K (2-2), Gurujeet Khulsa 6K (4-0), and Bob Crites 12K (3-1). Second place winners were Willis Huang 3D (3-1), Yukino Takehara 2k (2-2), Mohan Sud 6k (2-1), and Anderson Barreal 12K (2-0). All first and second place finishers received books.- report/photo by Gary Smith, TD/Organizer